Sanya #3: Dadonghai Beach

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I must have had too much caffeine yesterday as I couldn't get to sleep the previous evening. So I ended up having a lazy morning scoffing some instant noodles and catching up on some TV. I have to say the internet and ease of using my VPN is really good in Sanya. I think it's because pre-Covid, China was trying to tout Sanya to international tourists and they used to get a lot of Russian visitors there. Once sorted, I headed out to the bus stop and took the bus in the opposite direction to yesterday. This time to Dadonghai Beach. The journey was a bit quicker than yesterday's but not by much. Also since the bus was heading into the more centralised part of Sanya, it was pretty busy. The bus also followed part of the route that the bus from the airport had taken so it was a little familiar. I also passed a naval base. I don't know why it surprised me as being surrounded by the sea would be the perfect place to have one.

The bus dropped me just past the entrance to the beach. So I retraced the route noting a mall for coffee later. I like that the beach had a nice park area in front of it. Dadonghai is the main beach in Sanya since it is so close to the city centre. I had seen some photos of how busy it gets at Spring Festival so I was prepared to see a 'people mountain, people sea' that's how Chinese refer to overcrowded tourist spots in peak holiday times, but I was pleasantly surprised when I got down to the beach that it was busy, but not manically so. Although it was bit cloudy, I could see why the beach was so popular. It's really nice and has some great views of the surrounding area. Also the beach isn't too big, I think it's just under three kilometres in length. Looking left, I could see that the section a bit further on was out of bounds like in Yalong Bay. I presumed it was owned by the military and for them to do their business on. I found a nice little spot to relax on for a while. I liked that this beach seemed free from the commercialisms that haunt so many beaches. There were no cabanas or loungers for rent. Also I can't recall seeing any touts trying to flog trips or tat either.

After my rest, I went for a lovely stroll along the beach. After only a few hundred metres or so, the crowds thinned out and there was even more space, and it wasn't like you had to sit on top of anyone in the first place. My walk didn't take too long. I liked how the bay curved and took about a million photos of it. I took most of my photos in one direction as you could really see the curve of the bay and it wasn't too busy in that direction. The area was quite built up but the hotels were quite well spaced and the mountains behind them were a lot bigger making them seem smaller and slightly insignificant. In the other direction, I could see the part of land that belonged to the military so that was even less developed. The middle bit behind the beach was the most built up, but it didn't look too bad when compared to beach resorts in Europe. I think because all the buildings are set back from the beach and looked quite classy as I believe most are high end hotels. I could see a pier ahead, but before I reached it, I headed up off the beach and ended up in what appeared to be an abandoned resort area. There were a couple of what looked like bungalows/rooms and an empty bar area with a rusty looking speed boat inside it. There were a few labourers and a security guard about, but I don't know if they were from this abandoned place or the hotel that was being built behind it. I retraced my steps and headed down under the pier to the little stretch of beach there. I made it to the end of the beach and there was a small rocky outcrop there, so I had a wander on that. There was a resort right behind. I felt a bit sorry for the guests as the entrance to the beach was blocked off. No doubt to keep us plebs out rather than keep them in, but it did mean they had to hop over the gate to come in and out, not the most elegant of was to make an entrance or exit. You would think paying the big bucks that they would have a proper guarded entrance. I wished I had been able to access the pier but that was also blocked off, I did see some workers on it and they really stood out as they were decked out in bright orange. I walked back along the beach to where I had started from.

I needed some respite from the beach so decided to head to the Starbucks I had seen in the mall earlier when getting off the bus. It proved a bit tricky to get to as what looked like an entrance appeared not to be. I tried the stairs after walking around the corner but after heading up them, the door was locked. I found the main entrance to the mall and eventually got there. I ordered a coffee and a sandwich. I enjoyed the coffee, but the sandwich was gross. I won't be ordering one of those again. I had a nice little break under the air conditioning reading my book before heading back out. I walked through the park in front of the beach to see the statue, which I think was of a woman and a couple of children swimming through the air. Maybe she was meant to be a mermaid. The clouds had shifted a bit and there was a lot more sun coming through and it felt a bit fierce. The beach did look gorgeous though and I happily took in the view for a while. I walked back up past all the little stalls selling general beach tat, no doubt it can all be bought on Taobao (Chinese Amazon) for a fraction of the cost. I was surprised to see that all the stallholders were (Hui?) Muslim women. I didn't know that Sanya had a large Muslim population. On my way to the bus stop I realised that the pineapple mall was only another 100 metres or so, so I headed there for a quick look. I'd passed it on the bus but wanted to see it up close. I only stayed a few minutes snapping some pics, it's pretty tacky and gaudy looking. The word I'd used to sum it up in my notes was strange. It's just a regular Chinese mall so I didn't bother to go inside.

I didn't have to wait too long for a bus. The bus was pretty busy, but I managed to score a seat. The journey home wasn't too bad. I stopped off at the shop for some water and also some crisps as the sandwich I'd eaten earlier had left me feeling hungrier rather than filling me. I spent some time lazing about and gazing out the window. I didn't have the best of views, but I did catch some glimpses of life going on around me. I also heard a lot of firecrackers going off. Dinner was Kung Pao chicken with some egg fried rice and it was delicious.

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Comments

[RENanDREW]

'people mountain, people sea'
I love this expression and it perfectly describes that overwhelming feeling of humanity sometimes! The beaches look great :)

[Zephyr]

It is a great expression. Thanks for reading :)